Cable packing



April 18, 1950 F. E. PAYNE 2,504,936

CABLE PACKING Filed Oct. 15, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 2 1 I INVENTOR. I? 7 BY %//M April 18, 1950 F. E. PAYNE 2,504,936

CABLE PACKING Filed Oct. 15, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 F. E. PAYNE CABLE PACKING April 18, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 15, 1945 BY %M 45% Z 7 Patented Apr. 18, 1950 UNITED STATES PATEN T OFFICE CABLE PACKING Frank E. Payne, Glencoe, 11]., assignor to Crane Packing Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application October 15, 1945, Serial No. 622,427

' H 4 Claims. (01. 235-30) This invention relates to packing for cables and v conduits and particularly to a means for packing die-formed, is placed into the stufling box around the cable and pressed against the cable by means of a threaded gland. The modern cables are covered with a protective, wire mesh so that the packing must be capable of penetrating the interstices between the wire strands to form a gastight joint. It will be appreciated that on battleships and other naval combat vessels, the bulkhead to which the cable packing is secured is subjected to severevibration and even distortion, and this vibration is transmitted to the packing through the stufiing box. The packing therefore must be capable of some slippage over the cable without destroying the gas-tight'seal. Because the cables are closely spaced, it will be apparent that once the packed stufiing box loses its ability to hold gas, it is practically impossible toremedy this defect without disassembling the adjacent cable so that the gland of the loose packing may be turnedto tighten the packing.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a means for packing one or any number of cables which pass through a wall and to maintain the packing in perfect condition at all times.

Another object of this invention is to provide a means for packing a group of cables of different sizes, using a standard block forall of the cables in the group regardless of differences in sizes of the cables in the group.

,A specific object of this invention is to provide a cable packing which may be readily adapted to accommodate cables of any given ranges of sizes.

Another specific object of this invention is to provide a cable packing means wherein packing inplastic form is forced under pressure into the stuffing boxes for the cables after all of the cables in a group have been pulled through thepacking means.

Yet another specific object of this invention is to provide a cable packing means for a group of cables utilizing a plastic packing which is forced into the stuffing boxes of the packing means by a. 65

2 pressure gun located exteriorly of the group 0! cables.

These and other objects and features of this invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a quarter, section through a cable sturfing box incorporating this invention and showing the arrangement of parts prior to the injection of the plastic packing material into the box;

Fig. 2 is a quarter section of the stufiing box of i .Fig. 1, showing the disposition of the parts therein after the plastic packing has been injected into the stufling box;

Fig. 3 is a modification of the end ring of the stufiing box of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a section through a block of cable stufiing boxes;

Fig. 5 is a section taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 4 showing the means for injecting the packing into a plurality of stufiing boxes simultaneously; and

Fig. 6 is a modification of the stufllng box of Fig. 1 showing how a single size of box can be modified by means of an adaptor to receive different sizes of cable.

Referring now to the drawings for a more detailed description of the invention, and particularly to Fig. l, thereis disclosed a cable or other flexible conduit It which is required to be passed through a bulkhead H or other partitioning wall,

and a stufiing box 12. Said stufling box I2 is comprised of a cylinder having an opening l3 therein, the diameter of which is larger than the external diameter of cable It, a stepped portion M, the shoulder l5 of which abuts bulkhead H, and a hollowed-out portion l8 forming a, chamber l1 between said hollowed-out portion l6 and the exterior of cable III. The right-hand (Fig. 1) wall l8 of chamber l1 may be radial, but is preferably made conical to receive a flexible. resilient end ring 19 whichhas a corresponding conicalsurface 20. Said ring is has an internal diameter which is greater than the external diameter of cable Illin order to permit the cable to be readily pulled through the ring. The lefthand-end. (.Fig. 1) of stufiingbox I2 is closed by a metal ring 22 having an internal diameter. 23 which is greater than the external diameter of cable Ill and approximates the internal diameter opening of I3. A ring 24, similar in every respect to ring [9; is located adjacent closure, ring 22, the latter being provided with a. conical surface 25 having a slope opposite to that of conical surface 3 l8 and receiving ring 24 thereagainst. The end rings is and 24 may be endless or, if desired, may be s lit.

E ch end ring I! and 24 is formed with an axially extending tapered lip 28 and 21, respectively, and with a radially disposed side 28 and 28, respectively. Adjacent radially disposed sides 28 and 28 are ferrules 38 and 3|, respectively, which are held in position by a spring 32 compressed between ferrules 38 and 3|.

Located at any convenient point intermediate ferrules 38 and 3| is an opening 33 which is provided with a fitting 34 to receive a flexible pipe connection 35. The interior of pipe 35 is thus in direct communication through fitting 34 with chamber ll. Flexible pipe 35 terminates in a fitting 36 provided with a suitable check valve 31 to hold the pressure in pipe 35 and stufiing box l2, and with pins 38 to receive the end of a pressure gun.

To simplify the construction of the box 12, it is preferably welded as at 38 to bulkhead II and at 40 to ring 22 so that the ring may be removed if desired by simply chipping away the weld material 48, and stufiing box l2 may be removed from bulkhead H by removing the weld material 39. It will be noted that cable I8 is provided with a woven wire sheath 4i which of course increases the difliculty of efiecting a gas-tight seal between the cable and bulkhead ll.

The rings I 9 and 24 as well as the ferrules 38 and 3| and spring 32 are preferably assembled in stufiing box l2 before said stufiing box is welded to bulkhead II. This is done by first inserting end ring l9 then ferrule which of course will be centered by the wall of chamber H, and then spring 32 is dropped into place. After this is done, ferrule 3| is dropped over the end of spring 32, ring 24 is inserted behind ferrule 3! and finally ring 22 is pressed into place and welded. It is contemplated that the weld will consist of a few small spots of just suflicient strength to withstand the pressure created by the packing. Ring 22 will not be subjected to welding temperature sufficiently long to cause end ring -24 to become overheated. It will be recalled that end ring 24 is made of resilient-deformable material which may be some form of rubber, either natural or synthetic, and this material of course cannot safely withstand temperatures much higher than 200 Fahrenheit. The assembled stuffing box is then inserted into the opening provided for it in bulkhead II and welded thereto.

Referring now to Fig. 2, the stumng box is shown with the packing material in place under pressure. It will be noted that the lip portions 28 and 21 of end rings l8 and 24 have been forced radially inwardly by the pressure of the packing material into firm contact with the sheath 4| of cable I. This prevents the packing material from escaping through the space provided between the cable lo and the openings l3 and 23 through which the cable must be drawn. The packing material itself may be a mixture of cork, graphite, mineral oil and a polyisobutylene binder having a relatively high molecular weight. This will produce a packing which is quite tacky and which will penetrate into the interstices between the woven wire sheath and which will also adhere thereto so as to form a gas-tight seal. In place of the cork, sawdust and wood particles may be used, and grease and oils other than mineral oil may be substituted for the mineral oil. Similarly rubber-like binders of a consistency like that of polyisobutylene may be used instead of the polyisobutylene. The pressure to which the packing material is subjected will depend largely upon the nature of the material itself. For the first-mentioned material I have found that 400 pounds per square inch is satisfactory.

In the form shown in Fig. 3, the stuffing box 42 has been modified over that shown in Fig. 1 so that instead of theconical surface l8 there is a V-shaped groove 43 into which is fitted a cor-' respondingly V-shaped ring 44 made of suitable flexible material such as rubber, either synthetic or natural, leather, or the like. Similarly, the closure ring 45 is provided with a v-shaped groove 48 into which is fitted a ring 41 which may be identical in every respect to ring 44.

Each ring 44 and 41 is provided with a tapered lip portion 48, 48, respectively, and is held in place in the corresponding V-groove by ferrules 58 and Si respectively. These ferrules have tapered edges as shown for example at 52 which cooperate with the internal surfaces of the end rings 44 and 41 to provide a surface-to-surface contact therebetween. The spring 32 maintains ferrules 58 and ii in contact with rings 44 and 41 while the cable 18 is being drawn through the stuffing box. As in the Fig. 1 design. it will be noted that the lip portions 48 and 48 are initially spaced from cable "I so that the latter may be freely drawn through the stufilng box. The condition of the stuffing box after the cable has been drawn through it, but before the packing has been extruded into the chamber i1 is shown in the right-hand portion of Fig. 3. The condition of the stuffing box after the packing,has been extruded into chamber I1 is shown in the lefthand portion of Fig. 3. It will be observed in the said left-hand portion that after the packing has been introduced under pressure the lip 49 will be bent radially inwardly by the pressure of the packing and hence will prevent the escape of the packing from the chamber l1 through the space normally provided between cable l8 and ring 45.

The packing used in the Fig. 3 form may be the same as that used in the Fig. 1 form and the method of introducing it into chamber l'l' may be identical with that shown in Fig. l and accordingly no detailed description of the flexible tube and fitting need be given with respect to Fig. 3. It should be noted that the v-shaped rings 44 and 41 when used with ferrules such as 50 and SI and a Spring 32 will maintain their proper shape and location before, during and after the packing material has been introduced into the chamber. Thus it would be substantially impossible for the packing material to find its way behind the ring and into the V-grooves 43 and 48 since the ferrules have a stiffening effect upon the open end of the V-ring.

Fig. 4 shows a plurality of cables 53, 54, and ii of difierent sizes all passing through a bulkhead Instead of a single stufilng box -l2 as shown in Fig. 1, a plurality of stufling boxes is provided, the stuffing boxes being formed from a single block 51 which may be cast or die-formed to provide suitable openings foreach cable and a suitable chamber 58, 88, 88 and 8| for each of the cables, 53, 54, 55 and 58, respectively. Either the Fig. 1 or Fig. 3 forms of end rings may be used but, for purposes of illustration, the Fig. 1 form is shown with the block 51 of Fig. 4. Thus each of the chambers is closed all by a ring 82, 83, 84 and 88 each of which is preferably welded into .the chamber to which it is applied after the appropriate end rings I9 and 24, or their equivalent in larger sizes for the chambers 58, 80 and 8| have been put into place with a spring 32.

With the end rings welded inplace the cables are then drawn through the stufllng boxes so formed and the-packing is extruded into the various boxes.

Fig. 5 shows how the several stufling boxes may be reached for filling with a packing under pressure. Where the stumng box is relatively accessible as for example, one located at the edge of the box such as the one for cable 53, access to the chamber 58 may be had through opening 86 which is provided with a pipe connection to which a flexible tube or a fitting such as 36 of Fig. 1, may be secured directly. Where there are many cables in a block so that certain ones are not readily accessible without having to pass through the space between the outer rows of cables, the openings to the respective chambers may be cored as shown at 61. In this case each of the openings 68, 69, I and 14 meets in a common chamber or passageway I to which is secured a flexible pipe 16 passing upward to the edge of the block where it may be readily reached by a pressure gun. It is understood of course that an individual flexible tube can be used with each of the openings 88, 69, I0 and 14 if desired so that individual control of each stufling box may be possible. It is understood further that these flexible tubes I8 will be installed prior to the pulling of the cables through the respective stumng boxes.

Where it is not known beforehand the exact diameter of the cable to be passed through any one stufilng box, all of the stumng boxes will be made of a maximum diameter and then altered to fit the diameter of the cable actually passed therethrough. Fig. 6 shows how this may be accomplished. In this figure there is shown a stuffing box I! secured to a bulkhead H by a weld 39, said stufling box 11 having an opening 18 adapted to receive the largest size cable which it is expected to encounter. The normal stufilng box chamber is then defined by an enlarged opening 19 connected to the smaller opening I8 by a conical surface 80. Since the cable 8| actually passed through stufiing box 11 is of a much smaller diameter than the diameter of opening 18, an adaptor II is used. This adaptor is provided with a main body portion 13 which fits snugly within the enlarged opening 19, and a neck or reduced portion I2 which fits snugly into the smaller opening 18. The adaptor II is itself provided with an opening 82 which is slightly larger in diameter than the external diameter of the cable 8| to be sealed and with an enlarged opening 83 which with cable 8| forms a chamber 84 for the reception of packing. Adaptor II is secured to stuffing box 11 by means of a weld 85, preferably continuous, which may be readily chipped out in order to remove the adaptor. Similarly the chamber 84 is closed off at the left-hand and (Fig. 6) by a ring 86 which is secured by a weld 81 to adaptor II. The interior of chamber 84 is provided with end rings l8 and 24 as in Fig. 1 which are retained by ferrules 38 and 3| separated by a spring 32. An opening 88 in adaptor 1| provides communication between chamber 84 and the fitting 34 through which the packing is injected into chamber 84.

Thus, any individual stufling box can be made to receive a smaller cable by the simple expedient of using an adaptor such as the one shown at H in Fig. 6. Where the multiple stufling box is designed for a particular ship so that the number and sizes of cable to be accommodated is known with considerable. accuracy, the block may be formed as a unit with the stuffing boxes of approximately the correct size, this being done either by casting theblock with all openings of the same diameter, the diameter being the largest expected, and then inserting appropriate adaptors intoeach opening, or by forming the block initially with the stufiing boxes of the differing diameters located in proper relation to one another, Any changes that must be made after the stuffing boxes are installed can be made by removing one adaptor and substituting for it another, or by replacing the entire block. The former method would of course entail the least disturbance of cable already installed.

It, will be apparent from the foregoing description that the stufilng box for cables and the like made in accordance with this invention can be modified readily to meet existing conditions and. most important of all, can always be kept filled with the proper amount of packing under pressure. Once installed, all that is necessary to maintain a proper seal is to apply a pressure gun containing the proper packing material to the readily accessible fitting or fittings without removing or in any way altering the position of any of the cables. It is also apparent that if it is decided to change the size of one of the cables after the design of the boxes has been substantially completed and the stuffing boxes themselves have been installed, such a change can be made readily by moving the appropriate adaptor to reduce the size of the opening to that desired.

The foregoing description is merely illustrative of preferred embodiments of this invention and the scope of the invention therefore is not to be limited thereto but is to be determined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A packing for providing a fluid-tight joint between a cable and a wall through which the cable extends, said packing comprising a stufiing box supported from the wall and having an opening to receive the cable, the opening being slightly larger than the cable to permit the cable to be pulled through the stuffing box, means in the stuifing box deformable under fluid pressure to seize the cable, but normally substantially larger than the cable to permit free passage of the cable through the said means, and means for introducing a plastic packing into the stuifing box under pressure, said plastic packing contacting the deformable means to cause the deformable means to seize the said cable and form in conjunction with the packing a fluid-tight joint.

2. A packing for providing a fluid-tight joint between a cable and a wall through which the cable extends, said packing comprising a stufling box supported from the wall and having an opening to receive the cable, the opening being slightly larger than the cable to permit the cable to be pulled through the stufiing box, rings in the stufiing box at opposite ends of the opening, the rings being deformable under fluid pressure to seize the cable, but normally substantially larger than the cable to permit free passage of the cable through the said means, and means for introducing a plastic packing into the stufling box under pressure, said plastic packing being introduced between the rings and deforming the rings in a manner to cause them to seize the cable and '7 form in conjunction with the packing a fluidtight joint.

3. A packing for providing a fluid-tight Joint between a cable and a wall through which the cable extends, said packing comprising a stufling box supported from the wall and having an opening to receive the cable, the opening being slightly larger than the cable to permit the cable'to be pulled through the stuffing box, spaced resilient rings in the stufllng box, each ring having an axially extending lip which is tapered and readily deformable so as to seize the cable, but normally of a size sufllciently large to permit the passage of the cable therethrough, and means for introducing a plastic packing between the rings, said plastic packing contacting the tapered lips to cause said lips to seize the said member and form a fluid-tight joint.

4. A packing as described in claim 3, and re- 8 silient means for holding the rings in their spaced relation while the cable is being pulled through the rings.

FRANK E. PAYNE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the tile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATEN'IS 

